📚 2025 Book Thread 📚 Another year, another book thread. Keeping one in the other place too. Only goals this year are to keep using the library & try get out of my reading comfort zone more often!

You had me at watermelon margarita. Everything we had in Achara was super tasty. The grilled prawns are amazing. ✌🏼

Parilla in Ranelagh was 👌🏻 👌🏻 👌🏻 Excellent, tasty Mexican food. The beef & cheese empanada, jalapeño croquettes & fish tacos were particularly good.

55: Prima Facie. Adapted from the play that starred Jodie Comer and I think it might have been more impactful as a play. As a book, it was fine but not dissimilar to other books I have read.

54: Moonflower Murders. Turns out, a book within a book can be quite irritating.

On my 6th trip to Brussels in 3 years, I treated myself to a nice dinner. Lola does simple, classic cooking *exceptionally* well. The best lobster ravioli and bisque I have ever had (high praise as I order it whenever it’s on a menu)! And my first ever Ile Flottante. Gorge.

53: Bodies. Subversive, unexpected & gripping. Charlotte is disconnected from her own body, seeks comfort & validation in other bodies but really wants power. In a world where men disempower, control & occupy her, how can she change the dynamic? A truly immense read. Loved

52: All-Night Pharmacy. A dark, gritty LA story of drugs, sex, sexuality & relationships. Power dynamics, generational trauma & disconnection from self, family & culture are key features. Our narrator is unnamed to reflect her reliance on others. A good read.

51: What We Dont Talk About When We Talk About Fat. I have listened to Aubrey Gordon podcasts for ages & finally getting around to reading the book. A great personal & factual account of anti-fat bias in all aspects of society.

I was sent to Galway for work but I went for the food. Kai has been on my list for literal years and did not disappoint. And you cannot beat pizza at Dough Bros and a spicy marg 👌🏻

50: All This Could Be Different. In recession era mid west America, a young queer immigrant tries to navigate adulthood. She learns hard lessons about relationships & capitalism but finally learns to let people in and rely on others. I liked it.

49: Sundial. I am still not sure I actually understood all of this book. 🙈 its a great horror, if you happen to be into that buzz.

48: Welcome to Glorious Tuga. A lovely read set on a remote tropical island with lots of fun characters. Charlotte moves there on a fellowship to learn about tortoises and finds herself embedded into the fabric of their community driven society. Perfect summer read.

Birding. Set in a rundown seaside resort, two women in different circumstances and who don’t know each other are on a similar path. Both need to escape their pasts to have a future. Lots of complicated relationships playing in the boundaries of unhealthy & abusive.

46: The Girl You Know. A dark academia mystery with a lot of promise but it fizzled out a little for me. Solina dies in tragic & suspect circumstances just before returning to her posh boarding school. Her school drop out twin sister pretends to be her to find out the truth.

45: Witness 8. Always an easy, engaging read with lots of twists and turns.

44: The Secret Life of Leinster House. A very entertaining read about what could be a boring topic. A really easy writing style draws you in and keeps you entertained. Loved it and highly recommend.

43: Nora Webster. Set in the same town as the origins of Brooklyn, it shares the same focus on small town, conservative Irish living. But this book is about a family surviving grief & the change to their lives following the death of husband & father. A little tedious at times.

42: Confessions. A family saga but not the way you know it. Decades of dark, female secrets & stories unravel through different timelines, characters & locations. It’s not a tension builder but slow, unexpected turns that are very satisfying. It was very good.

41: Butter. Feminism & food are the main themes - all explored through societal expectations & the patriarchy. Its a great book but I never got into a rhythm reading it & never felt fully engrossed.

40: It Should Have Been You. Whats the worst that could happen when you said a message to the wrong what’s app group? This book really tests the limits of that idea. An engaging, easy read.